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Archiver > STJOHN > 1997-09 > 0874880850


From: "Robert L. Ward" <>
Subject: Re: Matthias St. John
Date: Sun, 21 Sep 1997 15:27:30


At 12:05 PM 8/18/97 -0700, you wrote:
>Looking if someone has found undisputed proof of the ancestors for Matthias
>St. John (b. about 1603/4 in England; d. Oct 1669 in Norwalk, Connecticut).
>He is the first person listed in Orline St. John Alexanders book The St.
>John Genealogy. Matthias came to Dorchester, Mass. in 1631-2, and was
made a
>freeman there on 3 Sep 1634. He moved to Windsor, Conn. in 1640. He then
>moved to Wethersfield, Conn. and then in 1654 he moved to Norwalk, Conn..
His
>wifes name may have been Sarah _____. Some listings show his parents were
>Oliver and Sarah (Bulkeley) St. John but I understand that has not been
>proven.

This is a very good question.

The ancestry of Matthias ST. JOHN is still unknown. He is definitely *NOT*
son of Oliver and Sarah (BULKELEY) ST. JOHN. There are several references
which you should consult:

Lothrop Withington, "Withington's Abstracts of English Wills,", _The New
England Historical and Genealogical Register_, vol. LIV (1900), p. 341-342.
Robert Leigh Ward, "Two Contemporaries Named Matthias Sension," _The American
Genealogist_, vol. 53 (1977), pp. 241-243.
Douglas Richardson, "The English Ancestry of the Merwin and Tinker Families of
New England: Part Two: John Tinker of Boston and Lancaster,
Massachusetts,
and Windsor and New London, Connecticut," _The New England Historical and
Genealogical Register_, vol. CXLIX (1995), pp. 401-432.

The upshot is that Matthias ST. JOHN/SENSION/SENTION/SENCHON (variants which
are interchangeable) married on 1 Nov 1627, at New Windsor, Berkshire,
England,
Mary TINKER, dau. of Robert and Mary (MERWIN) TINKER, bp. 6 Aug 1606, New
Windsor, Berkshire. Their children were:
Matthias, bp. 30 Nov 1628, New Windsor, Berkshire.
Thomas, bp. 24 Oct 1631, St. Nicholas Cole Abbey, London.
Mark, bp. 10 Jun 1633, St. Nicholas Cole Abbey, London.
Samuel, b. say 1640, presumably in Windsor, CT.
Mercy, b. say 1645, presumably in Windsor, CT.
James, b. ca. 1649, presumably in Wethersfield, CT.
His first appearance in New England records seems to have been 3 Sep 1634,
when
he was admitted freeman at Dorchester, MA. Probably he was not there in
1631-2
as given in some sources, but may have come in the summer or fall of 1633.

Matthias probably had a brother James SENSION, who also lived in the parish of
St. Nicholas Cole Abbey, London, contemporaneously with Matthias, and after
whom Matthias's youngest son was probably named.

His ancestry might be profitably sought in Berkshire.

Regards,

Robert

Robert L. Ward

http://www.erols.com/rlward1/
12236 Shadetree Lane, Laurel, MD 20708-2832
301-776-1659

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